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I've tried in vain to find a way to shade/color details on my models without also shading/coloring the surface; IE: trying to put a darker color in the engravings of a Space Marine leg without shading the surrounding plate, or, as is my case, trying to darken the in-between areas of the aztec pattern on the Starfleet Battles federation ships without also darkening the plates in the pattern.

How do I do this? I've tried a mix of gloss, shade, and water to try and get the ink to clump together, and that still darkened the surface (though it worked better than just using the shade). The only ting I can think of is just shading the entire surface anyways and then highlighting the surface carefully, as to not cover the detail. Is that what I need to do? Is there some other way to do it that works better?

Have you tried an ink wash? That's pretty much what they are designed for...

IDK, I was told by the guys at my local hobby shop that the newer GW shades were the new washes.

I could try another local store that sells stuff for large-scale models; last time I went in they said something about getting new acrylic modeling paints...

Or pre-shade the areas you want darker.

For example...if you prime the model white, go in and use a black wash (or layer up some black/grey) in the areas you want darker.

Then when you paint the model, using thin layers of your desired color (say...green, for example) you'll have a darker green where the black is, and a lighter green where the white remains.

 TheMeanDM wrote:
Or pre-shade the areas you want darker.

For example...if you prime the model white, go in and use a black wash (or layer up some black/grey) in the areas you want darker.

Then when you paint the model, using thin layers of your desired color (say...green, for example) you'll have a darker green where the black is, and a lighter green where the white remains.

Well, but some of the areas are really, REALLY tiny.

I've heard of 3 thistle and 1 thistle brushes. Would they be a good investment in this case?

I suppose they could, but I just use the tip of a brush the size of the fine detail one with some watered down ink or a wash. It's just like highlighting, but obviously inverted.

Rather than glazing an entire area you need to control them to get them where you want to get the most from them.

Army painter insane detail brush? More than 3 bristles but they are pretty small, never needed anything smaller

You're looking for a oil wash with a clean up wipe afterwards.

Since its extremely small details...controlled wash or ink is the way to go.

If you pre-wet the area you want the wash to go, it will flow into that area primarily / easier.